Lure Course

Orlando Lure Coursing

In lure coursing, dogs chase an artificial lure across a field, following a pattern that is meant to simulate live coursing. A typical lure course is between 600 and 1000 yards (548 to 914 meters) long. The course must have a minimum number of turns in order to simulate prey (the jack-rabbit or hare) changing direction in a chase. The fields can be fenced or not. If a dog is lure focused they will typically follow the lure from start to finish and not run off course. Dogs with some considerable lure experience, termed “lure-wise”, may try to anticipate or “cheat” by attempting to cut off the lure instead of trying to capture the lure using follow, speed and agility. Sighthounds generally have no need to be trained or enticed to chase the lure since the desire to chase is instinctual. However some breeds may require lure play at a very early age to encourage them to follow an artificial object with enthusiasm. Dogs must be at least one year old to compete; the hard fast turns are tough on a dog’s developing joints and lure coursing before the age of one can cause joint problems later in life.

My dog, Mali (Australian Shepherd) LOVES the lure course, but there has been nowhere in Orlando where she is able to run until now. SwiftPaws Central Florida is the only mobile Lure Course in Central Florida. They do special events, private doggy parties and anything else you celebrate with your dog. Their motto is “We run for fun!” Its active entertainment for you and your dog. Here is video of Mali running the lure course at Lake Mary Farmer’s Market.

SwiftPaws will be having lure course events all over Central Florida. You can check out our Events page to see where they’ll be setup. Too lazy to click the link? Here is their upcoming schedule: